Skip to 0 minutes and 5 seconds The smartphone is often literally in front of our nose. So we think we know what it is, but do we? Well, to find out, 11 researchers each spent 16 months in communities based in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. The result is a whole series of original perspectives on the smartphone. For example, we call the smartphone our transportal home because maybe it’s not just a device we use, but it’s become a place within which we live. You may have heard the expression the death of distance, meaning we can contact people anywhere. But is this now marked by the death of proximity? When you ignore the person sitting next to you because you’re busy doing things in your smartphone home.
Skip to 0 minutes and 55 seconds One of the main expansions in smartphone use over recent years has been its adoption by older people. And in week two of the course, we focus upon the smartphone’s impact upon ageing. We also wanted our project to be useful. So we developed an alternative anthropological perspective on how smartphones can be employed in the area of health and welfare. This is the topic of week three of this course. The course also includes reference to particular issues of the day, such as the way smartphones facilitate both surveillance but also care. Because the fine balance between care and surveillance became a major issue in the response to the covid-19 pandemic.
Skip to 1 minute and 45 seconds So if you want to find out more about this thing that is right in front of your nose, please do take our course.
